Taunton native preparing for Super Bowl as assistant general manager for Baltimore Ravens

Winning the AFC Championship game was a special moment for Eric DeCosta last Sunday.

By Steven Sanchez

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

By Steven Sanchez

Posted Jan. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 28, 2013 at 10:42 AM

By Steven Sanchez

Posted Jan. 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 28, 2013 at 10:42 AM

FOXBORO

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Winning the AFC Championship game was a special moment for Eric DeCosta last Sunday.

And he owes part of that success to a place he still calls home.

“It’s who I am,” DeCosta said. “I’m proud of the fact I grew up in southeastern Mass. and played football at Taunton High School.”

Now an assistant general manager for the Baltimore Ravens, the Taunton native is proud to be part of an organization whose team became the first in National Football League history to beat the New England Patriots in a conference title game at Gillette Stadium.

Before last Sunday, the Patriots were a perfect 4-0.

“It’s due to the players,” DeCosta said. “They played great. We did it the hard way, beating (Andrew) Luck, (Peyton) Manning and (Tom) Brady. Three of the best quarterbacks in the league. I’m just really proud of the players and coaches. Just doing it up here is special no doubt about that one.”

DeCosta, 41, has come along way since his playing days as a member of the Taunton High football team in the mid-1980s.

DeCosta has been a part of the Ravens’ organization since its inception in 1996.

He took an entry-level position and eventually moved up the ranks, first as an area scout then as director of college scouting for six years. He served as the director of player personnel for three years before his most recent promotion this year to assistant general manager under the current general manager and executive vice president, Ozzie Newsome.

“To work with great people like Ozzie (Newsome) and John (Harbaugh), it’s special,” DeCosta said. “Just to be around great players in the locker room. It’s a great organization. I think Stephen Bisciotti is ... one of the very best owners in football. It’s a great place to work and a great place to live in Baltimore. I’m just happy to be able to do it.”

As his team celebrated in the visiting locker rooms last Sunday, DeCosta spoke about the Patriots.

“The Patriots, they care and are talented,” DeCosta said. “Every team in the league wants to be like the Patriots and yearn to be like the Patriots. For us to come in here and do what we did tonight, I’m very, very happy and relieved. I’m thankful for the players that did such a good job for us.”

But through it all, DeCosta never forgets his roots.

“I love Taunton and I will always be a Tauntonian,” DeCosta said. “It’s always home to me. I don’t give back as much as I’d like to give back, but it’s near and dear to my heart.”

While at Taunton High, he played fullback and linebacker and earned three varsity letters for the Tigers. As a senior, DeCosta was voted team captain. He went on to play football at Colby College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English.

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DeCosta currently resides in Maryland with his wife, Lacie, daughter, Elizabeth, and two sons, Michael and Jackson James.